The film works on multiple levels: as a history lesson, as a primer on Middle Eastern politics and as an artist biography.
Comment
01/31/08
Persepolis (2007)
96
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:130
Fresh:125
Rotten:5
Average Rating:8.2/10
Consensus: Persepolis is an emotionally powerful, dramatically enthralling autobiographical gem, and the film's simple black-and-white images are effective and bold.
Theatrical Release:25-04-2008
Synopsis: NEW YORK PREMIERE AT NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2007 (Limited) PERSEPOLIS presents a deeply personal coming-of-age tale about finding one's place in the world. Based on her bestselling graphic... [More]
Reviews for Persepolis
It's a cultural Rosetta Stone, bridging disparate cultures with a universal language %u2014 the pain of growing up.
01/31/08
The characters are so rich and so human that they transcend the simple animation.The vocal performances also help give the film universal appeal.
01/29/08
It is a marvelous piece of filmmaking with a story that begs to be seen and understood.
01/29/08
There is nary a hint of CGI or any other computer-aided special effects --- which makes its impact all the more remarkable.
01/29/08
Animated coming-of-age tale is poignant, mature.
01/29/08
Clicks on ever level, visual and narrative, with a sort of inventiveness that seems intoxicated by the liberating possibilities of cinema.
01/26/08
If anything, the tonal simplicity of the film lends itself to graphic wit, a rich array of emotional experience and an austere impression of Iran as a place where ordinary fun, as Satrapi remembers it, could get a young person in trouble.
01/25/08
Persepolis represents a novel kind of animated feature and a worthy addition to the growing canon of fine films made from graphic novels.
01/25/08
A film as personal and eccentric as Satrapi's original book, a black-and-white, hand-drawn memoir of growing up and away from Iran.
01/25/08
More than just the first film in recent memory to be considered a must-see, Persepolis begs for a second viewing, if only to chart the way it so delicately weaves together the different stages of Marjane's life.
01/25/08
Few movies capture so well the fluid, fulsome response of children to their (and our) complex worlds.
01/25/08
Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed 2003 autobiographical graphic novel series has been turned into one of the most complexly moving animated films I've ever seen.
01/25/08
While not visually explicit, "Persepolis" is an uncompromising look at the culture of Iran as seen by an observant and open-minded child...
01/24/08
Marjane Satrapi, with co-director Vincent Paronnaud, has taken her work and turned it into a vigorous, revealing and tragic film.
01/24/08
There's a good lesson here about Iranian history but it's not exactly gripping material. Amounts pretty much to a "so what?"
01/18/08
No attempt has been made to go beyond two dimensions with the images, but the story and characters spring to three-dimensional life.
01/18/08
Persepolis feels abstract, never deeply personal, because Satrapi offers only surfaces and push-pin thoughts while sharing here sincere but glib sisterhood with Iranian history.
01/18/08
The story's greatest value lies in its elegant twining of the universal and the obscure: Satrapi's coming-of-age should be familiar to all, but along with it come startling glimpses of everyday life under the heavy hand of a Muslim theocracy.
01/18/08
In spite of all the idealistic baggage, the film feels like it's traveling light. The fluid handmade visuals hang onto the uniqueness of Satrapi's heavy-lined work while giving them a smoothness and a visual depth they previously lacked.
01/18/08
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